The ice on the surface of the river is shorter than the riverbank, and there is a slope about a decimeter high between the river bank and the riverbank, and the protagonist cannot see the river bank clearly from the ice.

Therefore, without any hesitation, the protagonist climbs the slope of the river bank on all six legs.

The moment the protagonist sets foot on the north bank of the Great River, he doesn't know the meaning. This was the first time he had set foot on this land, and it was also the first time that members of the entire Big-Headed Ant Kingdom had set foot on this land. But the protagonist knows that this won't be the only one.

Due to the low ground on the riverbank, the view is limited by the nearby terrain and vegetation, so after the protagonist looks around, he chooses a large, straight, dry tree that has lost its leaves, and quickly climbs up, and finds a good view from the top of the tree.

Then, a whole wilderness suddenly unreservedly unfolds in front of the protagonist.

It's a huge wilderness, and the terrain is generally flat. Only at the end of the protagonist's vision is there a vague view of the mountains, and there are also some low hills scattered along the river to the east of the field, blocking the protagonist's view.

Most of this wilderness is the sphere of influence of the Paving Ant Barbarians, and it seems to be even more extensive than the territory of the Big-Headed Ant Kingdom.

The fields are interlaced with snow and dark soil, forming the most basic background, with large areas of gray-black dry and leafless woods, shrubs and weed stems dotted with streams, ponds and pools.

Judging from the vegetation, this is a rich and not inferior to the anointed land on the south bank of the river, coupled with the vast area, it is no wonder that the paving ant barbarians can use the resources in it to continuously breed a large number of people, and they don't even care about the meaningless southern expeditions at a huge cost year after year.

In the past, when the protagonist observed the view, his attention was focused on the riverbank, and he was not in the mood to look into the distance like he is today. In addition, the height of the big banyan tree is limited, and today this tree is more than 20 meters high, and the field of vision is also broader, and the protagonist can have a glimpse of the whole picture of Hebei today.

After a cursory glance at the terrain, the protagonist memorizes some important geographical locations in his mind to form a simple map. Then, after confirming that there were no signs of paver ant activity nearby, he climbed down the tree.

The original temporary departure base of the Paving Ant Barbarian Army is in a clearing not far away, and the protagonist follows the road opened by the enemy without snow, stopping and stopping along the way, carefully approaching the entrance and exit of the base.

The location of this starting base is very exquisite, and its building is high in an open field, about half a meter higher than the surrounding area, so as long as there is no heavy rainfall, there is no need to worry about flooding.

The area around the entrance and exit has obviously been artificially cleared, and there is no vegetation left, but there are still stumps on the ground after the grass stalks have been cut off.

The surrounding snow has also been cleared, revealing the true color of the soil, which is more conducive to the army of paver ants absorbing the energy of the sun's rays.

The protagonist hides behind a rock not far away, and patiently observes for a while, but does not see any enemies entering or leaving. After touching the ground with his antennae, he did not feel the vibration of ant activity coming from the ground. So the protagonist boldly went into this base.

As soon as he climbs in and out of the entrance, the protagonist feels a strong breath of paving ant barbarians rushing towards him.

As he lives in the ant world for more and more time, the protagonist not only retains his human side (such as eating cooked food and thinking like a human), but also gradually acquires some of the skills of ants, such as walking on six legs and using antennae to communicate.

The smell of different races, different nests and even different individuals is different, and ants mainly rely on this to distinguish between friend and foe and each other.

And the common smell of the paving ant barbarian army, the protagonist has long been familiar with it, and at this moment, he feels that the aura of the enemy in this temporary departure base is extremely strong.

Because the physiological structure of ants is different from that of humans, these smells that identify them are actually not what they taste, and they are different from the spicy and bitter taste of humans, and the smell information that ants can distinguish is more complex. Perhaps due to the problem of having a mentality towards the enemy, the protagonist finds the smell disgusting.

Such a strong smell does not mean that there are still enemies active in this lair, but a large number of enemy troops have gathered here before, and now the enemy has just left for half a day, and the breath will not dissipate in a short time.

The protagonist resists this smell that makes him uncomfortable, searches around the nest**, and finally determines that the enemy has all been evacuated, and there is not even the shadow of a paver ant in the base.

Not only are the paving ants gone, but many of the nests in this base that are known to be material warehouses at a glance are also missing. Only a few food scraps are left all over the ground: grass seeds, bran, insect exoskeletons, and so on.

It can be said that the evacuation of the enemy was very well prepared, and everything that was still useful and could be taken away was taken away. And the whole base was so well organized that even the feces and corpses could not be seen, and it looked like both of them should have been thrown into the garbage heap as usual.

And judging from the fact that the base is very clean, the enemy may still want to come back, otherwise there is no need to bother cleaning up before leaving. And the enemy is not worried that this base will be occupied by the Big-headed Ant Kingdom Army, anyway, the Big-headed Ants will not be able to move in the wild in winter.

The protagonist probes around, but does not find much useful evidence, and the reason why the enemy suddenly abandoned the attack on "Waterfront City" and evacuated is still uncertain.

However, the protagonist notices a problem: the size of this departure base is not large compared to the army it carries, and it is not deep from the surface, so the temperature of the nest ** is not as comfortable as the heated "Waterfront City", no wonder the enemy is in a semi-frozen state when he gets up early every day to bask in the sun.

Judging from the scale of the departure base, the enemy really did not expect that the attack on "Waterfront City" would become a long-term and bitter battle. Perhaps this is what ultimately prompted the enemy to retreat.

Considering the sunset time, the protagonist can only take a general look at the base, and cannot view it in detail.

After feeling that the time is almost up, the protagonist crawls back to the ground. The sun has begun to sink into the ground, and the protagonist's heart is sinking a little - once it gets dark, the whole world will be in danger.

Fortunately, there was still time, and the protagonist hurriedly followed the path he came, crossed the river and returned to the "Waterfront City" for the night.

Soon after he got into the hole, the last rays of daylight dimmed.